A Day at the Playground
by SaruXIII
Summary: Naruto speaks up for a young girl who is being bullied.


**A.N. This one shot was originally designed to be the first chapter in an AU story where Sakura and Naruto became friends at an earlier age and developed feelings for each other. Basically, this idea evolved into a larger project with a majorly different plot-line, so this scene is no longer relevant. I still think its cute though, so please give it a read!**

**Disclaimer: There are many things that I do not own. Naruto is one of them. So is Sara Underwood. . .Guess which one I would rather have.**

**OoOoOoOoOo**

The setting sun cast an orange glow on the nearly uninhabited playground. Its only resident, a young blond boy, played quietly in the sand-box. Every now and then, he would pick up large handfuls of sand, and then let the grains slide slowly through the cracks of his fingers. A soft smile curled his lips, but his eyes betrayed a deep sadness. His clothing, worn and ragged, hung from his frame like a sheet cast over a coat-rack. For shoes, he had a pair of mismatched sandals. Both of them were different sizes, and neither of them fit his feet.

Suddenly, the boy perked up. He stood, brushed the sand from his pants, and stepped out of the sand-box. After making his way past the swing-set, he saw a group of girls gathered around a single figure like a pack of wolves. They were all laughing and pointing. The girl in the center, for her voice revealed the fact that she was female, was crying loudly and begging them to leave her alone.

"H-hey," the blonde tried to shout, but the word came out as a flimsy whisper. He cleared his throat, and called again, this time with some confidence, "Hey! Leave h-her alone!"

One of the girls, a brunette with pigtails, turned to look at him, and her face twisted in disgust. "Ew... its _him._ My daddy says that I shouldn't let him anywhere near me. Let's get outta here." The other girls followed her directions without question, and soon the only people left in the clearing were the little blond boy and the crying girl.

The blond stepped up to the girl, whose hair was a light shade of pink. Unsure of what to do, he asked, "Um...are you okay?"

She jumped violently and looked up at him from behind her thick bangs. She nodded, scrubbing the tears from her cheeks. "T-thank you."

All awkwardness seeming to drain out of him, he grinned and said loudly, "No problem!" He sat down next to her, crossing his legs in front of himself. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What's your name?"

She brushed the hair out of her eyes so she could look at him, "My name is Sakura... Sakura Haruno."

"Wow..." he whispered, "That's a cute name."

Sakura blushed and hugged her knees to her chest. "Thank you."

A long moment of silence passed, before Naruto finally asked, "Why were those kids making fun of you?"

"They laugh at me because I have a big forehead," she answered, not meeting his eyes.

Naruto raised an eyebrow comically. "Huh?" Jumping to his feet, he knelt in front of Sakura and pushed her bangs out of the way.

The girl yelped, and shoved him back in surprise. He landed on his back, staring up at her She jumped up and ran to his side, "Oh no! I'm sorry! You just..." she trailed off as he started to chuckle. "What are you laughing about?" she asked, sub-consciously holding a hand over her forehead.

"I...just...don't...g-get...it..." he stuttered out between his laughter.

"Get what?"

He got his laughter under control and propped himself up on one arm. "I don't get how something that small could cause someone to be mean to you. I mean, your forehead isn't even that big! I don't see the problem!"

Sakura stared at him as if he had grown a second head. "You really think so?"

"Yup," Naruto replied, grinning.

She smiled in return, "Thanks...that makes me feel...better..." She blushed again, looking down at her knees. After a moment, she asked, "Why have I never seen you around here before?"

Naruto fixed his gaze on the setting sun. "I don't normally come to the playground until the sun's down. I just saw that it was empty on my way back from Ichiraku, so I decided to play for a bit."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I was bored so I-"

"No, I mean why would you come to the playground at night? No one would be here for you to play with."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I guess that's why I do it. Most adults won't let their kids play with me, so if I come around here during the day they chase me away."

"Why don't they want you to play with anyone?" Sakura asked, clearly confused. "You're not a bully...and you don't look sick...What do they think you're gonna do?"

The blond shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't know, but its always been that way. I've never had any friends my own age. I'm used to it."

"Well, you'd better stop being used to it."

Naruto stared at her. "Huh?"

Sakura smiled, "I said that you'd better stop being used to it," she repeated. "Cause I'm your age, and I'm your friend."

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Naruto grinned. "I...uh..." he blushed, scratching the bridge of his nose. "I don't really know what to do. I've never had a friend before."

Sakura climbed to her feet, and Naruto did the same. "Well, I'm coming back to the playground at noon tomorrow. If you want, you can meet me by the swings. We could play hide-and-seek or something."

"That sounds great!" Naruto answered excitedly. "I guess...I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Sure. See you then, Naruto."

As the pink haired girl turned to leave, Naruto called, "You should really get a hair-pin or something to keep the hair out of your eyes! You're a lot cuter when you're not hiding your face!"

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**Well, there it is. Hope you enjoyed!**


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